Xbox One Support for OTA TV Should Appeal to Cord Cutters

With its newly added capabilities to support over-the-air TV broadcasts, including HD content, the Xbox One is gearing up to become the ultimate cord-cutting device. Microsoft had always intended for the Xbox One to become a console with extensive media capabilities extending beyond gaming. Its support for over-the-air TV now complements services such as Netflix and Plex, in addition to OneGuide integration and compelling features including voice control and the ability to pause live TV.

“I’ve been using the setup since, after enrolling in the Xbox One Preview program and receiving a Mohu Leaf indoor HDTV antenna and a Hauppauge 955Q USB TV tuner to take it for a test ride,” writes Darrell Etherington in his TechCrunch review. “The end result is that, for me at least, Xbox One is closer than ever to achieving its vision of being the one device to rule them all when it comes to home entertainment.”

Xbox_One_Live_TV

According to the Xbox press release, the Hauppauge tuner is available for $80. In the next few months, Hauppauge will release the $60 Hauppauge TV Tuner for Xbox One.

Despite the need for additional hardware, Etherington suggests the end results are strikingly impressive. The system is easy to set up and provides “excellent picture quality and sound.”

Etherington writes: “My wish list for Xbox One media capabilities is dwindling: HBO Now would be nice, once the exclusivity agreement with Apple expires, and I’d like to be able to mirror my phone but that would require the unnatural addition of AirPlay, which seems unlikely. Still, if you stripped my home theater setup down to just the Xbox One, from a media perspective, I’d now be more or less satisfied.”

Related:
Time Warner Cable’s Xbox One App Now Streams Live TV, Engadget, 4/28/15
Xbox One to Stream Live TV to PCs and Tablets Starting in May, TechRadar, 4/22/15
Streaming Xbox One Games to a Windows 10 PC is Awesome, The Verge, 4/30/15

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